The technology relates to an airbag unit. Specifically, the technology relates to an airbag unit that provides protection for an occupant, with a method of a deployment control of a side airbag unit, even when a driver's seat or a navigator's seat is rearward-oriented in a front-rear direction.
A side airbag unit has been known as an airbag unit that provides protection for an occupant against a collision when a vehicle is collided from sideward. The side airbag unit may be incorporated in a backrest of a seat. As illustrated in FIG. 6, bucket seats 100 may be disposed in a compartment of a vehicle. The bucket seats 100 may include a driver's seat 101 and a navigator's seat 102. A pair of side airbag units 103R and 103L may be provided in the driver's seat 101, on right and left sides of the driver's seat 101. A pair of side airbag units 104R and 104L may be provided in the navigator's seat 102, on right and left sides of the navigator's seat 102. The side airbag units 103R, 103L, 104R, and 104L each may include, although undepicted, an airbag in a bag shape, an inflator, and a case. The inflator may generate gas that causes the airbag to expand. The case may accommodate the airbag and the inflator.
If a side collision should occur on side of the vehicle on which the driver's seat is disposed, the inflators of the side airbag units 103R and 104R may be selectively ignited. This causes instant gas supply from the inflators to the airbags. Hence, it is possible to protect occupants from the side collision of the vehicle, and to prevent an occupant seated on the driver's seat from colliding with an occupant seated on the navigator's seat.
The side airbag units 103R, 103L, 104R, and 104L may expand and deploy upon the occurrence of the side collision in the following order. First, a side collision sensor on right side of the vehicle may detect the side collision on the right side of the vehicle. This causes expansion and deployment of the side airbag units 103R and 104R on the right sides of the seats 101 and 102. Hence, it is possible to prevent the occupant seated on the driver's seat 101 from colliding with an inner surface of a side wall of the vehicle, and to prevent the occupant seated on the driver's seat 101 from colliding with the occupant seated on the navigator's seat 102.
Next, a rollover sensor of the vehicle may detect a rollover of the vehicle due to the side collision. This causes expansion and deployment of the side airbag units 103L and 104L on left sides of the seats 101 and 102. Hence, it is possible to prevent the occupant from colliding with an protruding object inside the compartment of the vehicle, and to prevent the occupant seated on the driver's seat 101 from colliding with the occupant seated on the navigator's seat 102. For example, reference is made to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-312341.